Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, the founding ruler of the Southern Liang Dynasty, was a devout and fervent Buddhist follower whose faith reached an unimaginable level for ordinary people.
In the third year of his reign, Emperor Wu of Liang publicly declared before his court officials that he was abandoning Daoism to embrace Buddhism. Leading a procession of 20,000 monks and laypeople, he took a vow to devote himself to the faith and commanded everyone from nobles to commoners to follow suit. He ordered the construction of countless temples, supported thousands of monks and nuns, commissioned massive gold, silver, bronze, and stone Buddha statues, and personally lectured on the sutras. With the emperor's fervent patronage, temples and statues sprang up like a forest across the land.
Emperor Wu of Liang considered befriending eminent monks a vital part of his life, eagerly attending their lectures, often transcribing their words himself, and sometimes even climbing the podium to preach—a pursuit that consumed vast amounts of his time and energy, yet he never tired of it. Among his countless monk friends, the Dharma Master Yun Guang left a particularly legendary mark on history through their interactions.
Emperor Wu of Liang often invited Master Yunguang to expound Buddhist teachings. One day, Master Yunguang lectured on the *Nirvana Sutra* from morning till night, yet the emperor remained tireless, listening with rapt attention. The master spoke with vivid detail, so captivating that Emperor Wu was utterly entranced. Eventually, heaven itself was moved, and fragrant blossoms began to rain down from the sky. Startled as if from a dream, the emperor exclaimed, "Master, the Dharma is truly so wondrous!"
From then on, Emperor Wu of Liang grew even more obsessed with Buddhism, adopting an ascetic monk-like lifestyle—abandoning all imperial pleasures, eating only one simple meal of vegetable broth and coarse rice each day, abstaining from alcohol and meat for long periods, and even offering only fruits and vegetables at ceremonies honoring heaven, earth, and ancestors. Eventually, he went so far as to shed his dragon robe and fully renounce the throne to become a monk.
Later, the idiom "flowers falling from the sky" came to describe speech that is vivid and captivating, often referring to exaggerated or unrealistic talk.
Source: *Biographies of Eminent Monks*
Meaning of the Idiom: Later, the Chinese idiom "天花乱坠" came to describe how speech that is vivid and captivating, often referring to exaggerated or unrealistic talk.